Nodoka spent five minutes staring at the pictures before she got her emotions under control. Once she started working through all the angles, a plan came to her. She needed to find Ranma quickly, and chasing down the pieces to Magneto's puzzle wasn't going to do it. She would also need a means to get there undetected, especially if Ranma was being held on Asteroid M. The X-men had Cerebro and the 'Blackbird', both of whom she could make use of. Nodoka didn't think Ranma was a mutant, and Magneto's helmet prevented him from being detected, but Magneto usually had a crew of flunkies - his 'Acolytes' as he called them - that he kept close to him. When she was impersonating Xavier, she was able to track them down easily enough, and she hoped she could do so later. The modified Lockheed SR-77 'Blackbird' was a VTOL stealth spyplane with one of the best anti-detection packages on the planet. Between the 'cloak' and it's speed, no place, not even Asteroid M, would be out of her reach.
She knew the X-Men didn't trust her, and she didn't trust Xavier, so asking them politely to borrow their equipment was out of the question. She would have to invade the Mansion to use Cerebro and steal the 'Blackbird'. The problem was, time would not be on her side. Neither would numbers. Even if she waited until the X-men were attending Bayville High School, that still left Beast (super agility and strength), Storm (complete control over the weather), and Wolverene (superhuman senses and claws) to deal with, not to mention Professor X (telepathic bastard). She was going to need help to achieve her objective. She needed an excellent sneak thief to help her get in the mansion, and an excellent fighter when they run into trouble.
A smile crept across her face as she realized just what she needed.
She needed... her husband.
The Tendo Home:
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"I've got it!" Kasumi yelled as she left the kitchen. Opening the front door, she saw Nodoka with two suitcases in hand. This wasn't all that unusual. Since the Saotome house had been rebuilt, Nodoka had been moving her family out of the Tendo home. What was unusual was that it looked like those suitcases were already full. What was most distressing, however, was the look on Nodoka's face. It reminded her of the look that the doctor had on the day that her mother... that day.
"Kasumi," Nodoka began. "is my husband available?"
Kasumi pointed in the direction of the family room. "He-He's playing Go with Father."
"Thank you." Nodoka said as she walked in and replaced her shoes with 'guest slippers'.
As Nodoka went into the house proper, Kasumi followed. "Is... there something the matter, Auntie Nodoka?"
Nodoka schooled her expression for maximum worry. "Yes, dear. There is."
In the family room, Genma and Soun were doing the same thing they do every afternoon: Plot to get their stupid children to marry.
That Akane and her pet pot-bellied piglet, P-Chan, were in the room listening to them while watching the television was no consequence.
"Alright, we'll lock the two of them in Akane's room. Make sure that the only thing for them to drink is twenty-year-old hooch flavored with 'Spanish Fly', and throw all the breakable items out the window."
"Uncle Genma's getting sloppy, isn't he, P-Chan?" Akane said as she flipped through a folder of the plots Soun & Genma had used in the past (Nabiki sold it to her for ¥5000) and showed her 'pet' the appropriate section. "See. They used a variation of this plot... six months ago."
P-Chan remembered the incident Akane was referring to. He had managed to wander into Akane's room via the closet door to find everything thrown out but the bed, upon which lay Ranma, who was asleep, and Akane, who was trying to rouse Ranma. Just as P-Chan was about to bite Ranma's foot in order to get him out of Akane's bed, Akane snatched him up.
"Oh P-Chan," Akane breathed as she began to unbutton her pajama top. "Thank goodness you're here. Daddy and Uncle Genma locked us in my room and Ranma's asleep and I'm frustrated because he's limp and I need it right now..."
For the life of him, Ryoga could never remember what happened next, but he knows that it took him a week's worth of washing to get rid of the smell of fish.
The problem with this plan, Akane mused. is that Ranma can't hold his liquor. He always cries himself to sleep. And if I drink that stuff, I'll end up frustrated unless I can slip out of my room and find somebody. Akane suppressed a shudder before tightening her hold on P-Chan. But so long as I've got P-Chan, everything will be all right. Akane thought with a lecherous grin that would've made Happosai run for the hills if he ever saw it.
"Tendo, do you think we should raid the master's collection for lingeree for your daughter?"
Soun chuckled. "I doubt the master has anything that would fit Akane." Then he saw Nodoka coming up behind Genma. "Uh Oh. Nodoka Alert!"
Don't worry about No-chan, Tendo. The only thing she might have a problem with is that we don't include the other girls in our plan. I tell you Tendo, that woman's into tradition and honor. Really. She wouldn't have minded if I'd taken a mistress or two during that training trip. For instance, there was this one time I'd come home after..." Gemna trailed off after looking up into his friend's face. "...she's behind me right now, isn't she."
Soun nodded his head as he clapped three times and prayed for his best friend's soul.
Genma reached for his glass of ice-cold water that he kept on hand for such occasions, only to see Nodoka's hand snatch it away. "H-How?"
"I lived with you and your eating habits for nine years off-and-on, Dearest," Nodoka replied. "and I had no desire to be like Twiggy."
Kasumi interrupted. "Why the suitcases, Auntie? Are you going on a trip?"
"Yes Kasumi. To America," Nodoka responded. "and I'd like Genma to come with me.
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(Posted Mon, 16 Aug 2004 05:18)
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